This description relates to configuring preferred user zone lists for private access points for wireless networking.
Cellular wireless communications systems are designed to serve many access terminals distributed in a large geographic area by dividing the area into cells, as shown in FIG. 1. At or near the center of each cell 102, 104, 106, a radio network access point 108, 110, 112, also referred to as a base transceiver station (BTS), is located to serve access terminals 114, 116 (e.g., cellular telephones, laptops, PDAs) located in the cell. Each cell is often further divided into sectors 102a-c, 104a-c, 106a-c by using multiple sectorized antennas. In each cell, that cell's radio network access point may serve one or more sectors and may communicate with multiple access terminals in its cell.
The 1xEV-DO protocol has been standardized by the Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA) as TIA/EIA/IS-856, “CDMA2000 High Rate Packet Data Air Interface Specification,” 3GPP2 C.S0024-0, Version 4.0, Oct. 25, 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference. Revision A to this specification has been published as TIA/EIA/IS-856A, “CDMA2000 High Rate Packet Data Air Interface Specification,” 3GPP2 C.S0024-A, Version 2.0, July 2005. Revision A is also incorporated herein by reference. Revision B to this specification has been published as TIA/EIA/IS-856-B, 3GPP2 C.S0024-B, version 1.0, May 2006, and is also incorporated herein by reference. Other wireless communication protocols may also be used.
When connecting to a radio network, an access terminal selects an access point from a list of available radio network access points that are known to be within communication range. In conventional systems, the access terminal obtains the list of available access points from “neighbor list information.” In general, neighbor list information includes the set of radio channels (e.g., radio access technology, band classes, frequencies, and channel bandwidths) and other necessary information (such as timing offsets, coding information, details about the particular radio technology in that channel, search window size, etc.) to assist the access terminal in locating radio network access points from which it can potentially receive radio services.
Neighbor list information is typically provided to the access terminal via (1) a preconfigured database programmed into the access terminal in a static or semi-static (infrequently updated) state or (2) overhead signaling messages that are transmitted by some or all of the radio network access points located within the general vicinity of the access terminal. These mechanisms for providing neighbor list information to an access terminal are generally implemented on static radio access networks in which the locations of radio network access points are either permanently fixed or changed infrequently.